Numerical studies of heat island circulations

✍ Scribed by Yves Delage; P. A. Taylor

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1970
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 1001 KB
• Volume: 1
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0006-8314
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00185740

✦ Synopsis

A two dimensional model has been set up to investigate the circulation induced by an urban heat island in the absence of synoptic winds. The boundary conditions need to be formulated carefully and due to difficulties arising here, we restrict our attention to cases of initially stable thermal stratification. Heat island circulations are allowed to develop from rest and prior to the appearance of the final symmetric double cell pattern, a transitional multi-cell pattern is observed in some cases. The influence on the steady state circulation of various parameters is studied, among which are eddy transfer coefficients, the heat island intensity, the initial temperature stratification and the heat island size. Some results are presented for a case in which differential surface cooling beneath an initially stable atmosphere produces a circulation and an unstable layer capped by an elevated inversion over the city. It is hoped that this case is vaguely representative of the night-time heat island with no geostrophic wind. Or Reference temperature (C); I0 Surface temperature; e Air density.